Volunteer Application

A Profile In Mercy

Beverly West

Beverly was first introduced to Sisters Academy by a friend about seven years ago. Her expertise as a Special Education Teacher, and then as a Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant, has been extraordinarily useful at Sisters Academy. For many years she evaluated, diagnosed, then developed programs for special education students and tracked their progress. This led to a nice transition to volunteering at Sisters Academy after her retirement. She currently assists Mr. B once a week as a Language Arts Tutor for the 5th and 6th grade classes. She also helps Sister Mary Lou with assessments and evaluations for incoming 5th graders.

Her passion and commitment to Mercy Center and Sisters Academy extends far beyond the classroom. In the spring, she is part of the Garden Club that meets weekly. Every summer, she collects school supplies and delivers back packs filled with back-to-school essentials. Every Christmas, she runs a gift drive funded by the Spring Lake Community House and collects gifts for the girls. She also assembles hygiene bags for Mercy Center.

All of this time and dedication to our mission is rooted in her receiving a good Catholic education at St. Rose High School and Cabrini University and now bringing that experience “full circle” by helping to give a good Catholic education. She is doing what she “wants to do” because she observes and appreciates the improvements in the girls each year, not just academically, but also socially and behaviorally. She is amazed at the unique experiences the girls are exposed to such as swimming, violin, golf and fencing. “The school is spotless”, runs efficiently, and the girls are engaged and disciplined which she finds very impressive. This is not always easy as it requires strategic thinking and creativity to help some of the girls overcome home-life challenges so they can maintain the pace and responsibility to our rigorous curriculum. However, what is most inspiring to her is the support we provide our graduates. We continue to help them through high school and college so they can fully realize their potential. She classifies our alumnae as “role models.”

Beverly enjoys an active and fulfilling personal life. She and her husband raised three children. They love to travel, see Broadway shows and get lost in good books.

To anyone interested in volunteering at Sisters Academy, Beverly highly recommends trying it. She “loves working with Mr. B and the staff.”